"This challenge is not my journey, but our rally for the future."
Chairman of the Korean Sports Council Yoo Seung Min will challenge the position of vice chairman of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Chairman Yoo will run for vice chairman at the ITTF's annual general meeting in Doha, Qatar, shortly after the end of the World Table Tennis Championships on the 27th. All candidates were reviewed and approved by the ITTF Election Committee and the Candidate Recommendation Committee on March 6, and eight candidates will be voted on with 17 candidates from around the world challenging them.
Chairman Yoo boarded a flight to Doha, Qatar, shortly after a meeting of parents of the Gimhae National Youth Sports Festival on the 24th. The presentation was completed on the 26th and the election will be decided in a general meeting vote on the 27th.
In the presentation, President Yoo introduced his career from the Athens Olympic champion, the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, to becoming the president of the Korean Sports Council, and after overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, he shared his experience of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, which was a huge success last year, and appealed to the vote with his unique sincerity, saying, "Please be a partnership, not just a vote." Chairman Yoo then presented three visions. "First, I will share my experience so that I can have equal authority. Everyone is equally precious. We will ensure that all voices of all continents and members are respected and not alienated. Second, I will make sure that the voices of the players are amplified. I will hear the voices of all the players, not just the elite players. I will not only listen to their voices, but also actively reflect them in our decisions and policies. Third, I will increase the power of table tennis in the Olympic movement. Chairman Yoo then worked in six IOC divisions, including Olympic Program Commission, and serves as an LA Olympic Coordinator. I will try to help table tennis take the lead in the Olympic movement." Chairman Bach gave me the nickname 'Global Hard Worker' at the Paris Olympics last time. I won't stop according to my nickname, but I'll continue to work hard. I'm going to keep 'hard work' Our table tennis event will be No. 1 in the Olympic movement," he promised again and again. "This is not my journey, this is our rally for the future. Let's make a better future together..." was applauded.
Chairman Yoo continues his active diplomatic activities by talking with Thomas Bach, chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at the Doha General Assembly in Qatar. At the ITTF Summit ceremony, Chairman Bach added two Olympic medal events, including the mixed doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the mixed team event at the 2028 LA Olympics, and presented the 'Unity' trophy and the first ITTF honorary badge from ITTF Chairman Petra Schuring and Vice Chairman Liu Guoliang for their contributions to the development of table tennis events through gender equality, diversity, inclusion, sustainability and digitalization policies.
Meanwhile, at the annual general meeting, the presidential election and the vote to decide where to host the 2027-2029 World Championship will be held. It is an election to select a new chairman as ITTF Chairman Petra Schuring's four-year term ends. With current chairman Söring hoping to serve a second term, Asian Table Tennis Federation Chairman Karyl al-Mohannadi (Qatar) and Mohamed El Hasen Ahmed Salem, president of the Mauritanian Table Tennis Association, will challenge the stronghold. ,The 2027 World Championship is a three-way race between France, Kazakhstan, and the United States, the 2028 World Championship is a four-way race between Japan and Germany, China, Brazil, and the United States.
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
